The shugo daimyo of the Ashikaga period. The power of the shugo daimyo undermined that of the shogun, pathing the way for the slow collapse of the Ashikaga. Courtesy of samurai archives.com.Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, shown here, was a savvy enough political operator to forge consensus where he lacked the strength to impose his will by force. His descendants would not be so gifted.Ashikaga Yoshinori, the shogun whose assassination presaged the collapse of the bakufu in 1441.Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the shogun whose disinterest in government led to the implosion of the Ashikaga state.Ginkakuji, the retirement pavilion built by Ashikaga Yoshimasa in the hills east of Kyoto. Utterly irresponsible and uninterested in working to resolve the crises of his day, Yoshimasa looked on from here as his capitol burned.The Onin War, ostensibly a conflict over succession in the house of Ashikaga, was really a result of competition for power and prestige between two families of shugo daimyo. After this point, the fiction of Ashikaga power lost all its defenders.

Kato Shizue was one of Japan’s earliest feminist icons. This week we’ll trace her unusual rise from daughter of wealth and privilege to firebrand politician fighting for the rights of Japanese women and women everywhere.

Kato Shizue as a young woman.Kato Shizue with American birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger during the latter’s first tour of Japan.Kato and Sanger meeting with fellow birth control advocates in Japan, c. 1920s.Kato Kanju, Kato Shizue’s second husband, was a socialist and pacifist leader.Kato Shizue during her time in the House of Councilors.

Evans, David C and Mark R. Peattie. Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy 1887-1941.

Yoshida, Mitsuru. Requiem for Battleship Yamato.

Images

Japan’s naval victories in the Russo-Japanese War (the one shown here is the Battle of Port Arthur) represented some of the first examples of modern warships going toe-to-toe.The IJN Mikasa, flagship of the Japanese navy during the Battle of Tsushima. Japanese victory at Tsushima was taken as a vindication of a battleship-centric fleet by traditionalist naval leaders, but by the time of World War II such ideas were totally outmoded.The Yamato under construction, Fall 1941.The Yamato during her sea trials, December 1941.The Yamato was attacked by American fighter-bombers en route to Okinawa and eventually sank after several hits. This American fighter camera shows the Yamato taking on water as she has started to sink.The Yamato explodes during her sinking.The museum at the old Kure Naval Yards in Hiroshima has a scale replica of the Yamato.

Mishima, Yukio. The Way of the Samurai: Yukio Mishima on Hagakure in Modern Life.

Nathan, John. Japan Unbound.

Nathan, John. Mishima: A Biography.

Images

Mishima as a child. His early life was rather traumatic, torn between an aristocratic grandmother who wanted him to be a literary achiever and a father who was worried that his son would grow up to be weak.Mishima during the prime of his career.Barakei, the photobook Mishima did with Hosoe Eiko, really is something.It’s quite something indeed.Mishima Yukio (below) with fellow right-winger and author Ishihara Shintaro, who would go on to be the Mayor of Tokyo.Mishima during the fateful 9/25/70 “coup attempt”. After the SDF refused to support him, Mishima retreated back inside the SDF HQ building in Ichigaya and took his own life.Some have suspected that Mishima’s short story Patriotism — which was eventually made into a movie, as shown here — depicted his intentions from the beginning.

What do you get when you cross radical Confucianism with armed samurai? Japan’s first samurai rebellion since the 1630s, and a recipe for one fascinating episode. Cannons, torture, and philosophy: this episode has it all!

De Bary, William Theodore et al. “Oshio Heihachiro” in The Sources of the Japanese Tradition, Volume 2, 1600-2000.

Jansen, Marius. The Making of Modern Japan.

Matsuda, Wataru. Japan and China: Mutual Representations in the Modern Era.

Images

Wang Yangming, a Ming Dynasty scholar whose ideas would form the backbone of Oshio’s own.Oshio Heihachiro during his time as a yoriki.Oshio Heihachiro as depicted by Yoshitoshi.The Tenpo famine was devastating, killing thousands at a time the shogunate was ill-prepared to respond. The crisis would eventually precipitate Oshio’s rebellion.A map of Osaka from the Edo period. Courtesy of the historical archives of the city of Osaka.A colorized photo of the grounds surrounding Osaka castle from the 1870s. Though this photo dates from near 40 years later than the rebellion, I think it’s interesting for giving us an idea of what the construction in Osaka would have looked like.

Podcast Merchandise!

Support the show! Buy me a coffee!

Podcast Merchandise

You can also buy podcast merchandise here to support the show. Send some money my way and help get the word out about the podcast at the same time!

This week, we cover exciting topics like meteorology and internal Mongol family politics! But wait, there's also a bit of Zen theology dashed in to spice things up! It's an eclectic week on the podcast for sure!

This week: where did the Mongol Empire come from, and who was in charge when they decided to come after Japan? Also, why is the Kamakura shogunate the most convoluted form of government in a history of convoluted governments?

All you could ever want to know about podcast recording, UW's graduate program, and why the Japanese definitely are not part of the 10 lost tribes of Israel! That and more! Thank you all for 200 great episodes!

In which we bring things to a close by considering the fall of the Butokukai, the spread of budo beyond Japan, the role of martial arts in the African-American community, the question of Olympic sport status, and the challenge of the UFC. It's gonna be a busy week.